Thinking small

Published 5:03 pm Saturday, December 11, 2010

Thinking small

Red ink by the gallon: The economy and poor decision-making appear to be responsible for a $22.4 million budget gap for the city of Lynnwood, which is having to confront deep cuts to its staff as well as tax increases.

Things have gotten so bad for Lynnwood, the federal government is said to be days away from taking control of the city and handing over the reins to a city with better financial controls, namely Darrington.

Red ink by the barrel: Meanwhile, the Legislature convened a special session this morning in Olympia to fill a $1.1 billion deficit in the state’s budget. The plan is to plug the hole with spending cuts and other measures.

If Democrats and Republicans at the Capitol can’t agree on a deal, the whole mess gets turned over to Sultan’s town council.

Red ink by the eye dropper: Holiday shoppers are taking more care in making their purchases this year. One retail polling company says that it surveyed shoppers and found that only 27.6 percent planned to use credit cards to pay for most of their purchases, the lowest level since 2002.

Keep this up, people, and you’re next in line to solve the world’s various financial crises.

—Jon Bauer, Herald staff